Bear Put Down After Breaking Into Homes In Boulder

BOULDER (CBS4) – A bear in Boulder had to be euthanized Tuesday after breaking into two homes.

The 2-year-old bear ransacked one house near 300 Arapahoe Avenue before breaking into the next home on Marine Street searching for more food. After the break-ins wildlife officers caught up with the bear in Eben G. Fine Park and had it put down.

“This bear had become so habituated to all the garbage and trash and food and attractants in the neighborhood that it felt bold enough to go into a home,” Jennifer Churchill with Colorado Parks and Wildlife said.

(credit: CBS)

The bigger problem was that one of the homeowners was inside the house when the bear broke in. That’s where Churchill says the bear crossed the line for public safety.

“When bears become a nuisance, when they won’t leave town, if they’re aggressive, or if they enter an occupied building where humans can be, they really become a public safety issue,” Churchill said.

Some have openly criticized Parks and Wildlife for taking down the bear so quickly, but officials say when a bear directly threatens the public there are no second chances and the bear needs to be put down.

Parks and Wildlife also says they always want better things for bears and putting a bear down is always a last resort.

Keep bears away by taking trash out away from the house and lock it up to keep bears out.